One day, I realized I had a completely free weekend. After thinking about it for a bit, I packed the Triumph’s saddlebags and pointed the front wheel north. The idea was that if the weather was good, i’d ride far, and if not, i’d just spend the night camping somewhere nice—like Hossa a national park in northeastern part of finland.

I started riding north on Highway 4 from Jyväskylä. After Viitasaari, I turned east onto the “Sininen tie” -scenery traveling road, passing through Keitele to Iisalmi. From Iisalmi, I took Highway 5 to Kajaani. In Kajaani, I took my first break, ate, refueled, and stopped by a store to buy camping food. After that, I continued through Suomussalmi to Hossa. The total distance was 500 km.

Upon arriving in Hossa, the first thing I did was fetch water from a spring that, in my opinion, has the best-tasting water in the world. This spring is located by the road, roughly halfway between the nature center and the Jatkonsalmi camping area.

In Hossa National Park, a traveler can stay overnight at the Jatkonsalmi camping area. This is one of my favorite spots. The area is spacious and quiet, with a long stretch along the lake where you can choose the perfect spot for camping. You can park your car—or in my case, motorcycle—right next to your tent. The area also has multiple fire pits, a dock for launching kayaks or canoes, and an outhouse.

The day’s journey was almost done, apart from sleeping. I crawled into the mosquito tent to escape the bloodsuckers, and before I knew it, I was fast asleep.

The morning sun woke the traveler after a good night’s sleep. It had rained a little during the night, but both the man and his gear stayed dry.

After morning coffee and breakfast, I packed up camp and set off riding northwest on Pistolehdontie Road. Along this road, there’s a lovely lake called Kirkasvetinen, wich is means simply clearwater and true to its name, the water is exceptionally clear. The photo doesn’t do justice to its clarity, as the gray clouds darken the surface, but when you dive beneath, you can see incredibly far. I should have had the sense to bring goggles. The morning swim was refreshing, and the water was surprisingly warm.

Return trip

After morning routines and washing up, I looked at the weather map with a sense of gloom. weatherman promised fierce old women with knives and torrential rain across all of Finland.

I decided to start my journey home, but I didn’t want to take the most direct route. Instead, I chose to ride home via Via Karelia—the road of poetry and the border. The route follows the Finnish-Russian border from Ilomantsi to Salla, and this road is truly worth riding in its entirety one day. This time, my trip included the Hossa–Nurmes stretch of Via Karelia, and I can warmly recommend these eastern border roads to everyone. They’re a real pleasure to ride compared to, say, Highway 5.

The photos above were taken about fifty kilometers before Kuhmo. Shortly after that, the weather changed, and it started to rain. The rain lasted all the way home—350 kilometers. I had rain gear with me, but even the best rain gear doesn’t keep you dry in a torrental weather for many hours, and after just a couple hundred kilometers, I was soaking wet from head to toe. Unfortunately, I didn’t take any photos during the ride because I had to focus on the road.

As a funny incident, on the Kuopio motorway, a line of American cars came toward me, probably returning from the Pieksämäki Big Wheels event. One of these cars had its convertible top down. It would have been funny to see how full of water the car’s cabin was.

I arrived home in Jyväskylä just before midnight. This was a nice little trip.